Learning to Love
by Pen and Paper71
Summary: A series of short drabbles based around Rydia and Edge of Final Fantasy IV.
1. Chapter 1

A/N- So, as mentioned in the summary, this will be a series of drabbles based around Edge and Rydia. I do apologize in advance for the brevity of this one though. The rest of them should be longer. I've just been wanting to try my hand at some FFIV fanfiction for a while now, but I'm having some trouble getting a good feel for the characters so I've decided to use this fic to get my feet wet and I would love any feedback that you guys can give me. That way I can improve. Anyway, I'll stop babbling now. Enjoy!

Edge was surprised when Rydia arrived in Eblan and even more surprised when she laid her hand on his arm gently as they made their way into the castle.

His heart beat a bit quicker at her soft touch and the part of him that he'd tried so hard to conceal, the part of him that desperately hoped that she might one day return his feelings for her, came alive for a moment. He quickly tried to squash it though, his fear of being hurt, of discovering too late that he had read into her actions more then he should have, held him at bay.

But, he thought with a smile as he snuck a glance at the beautiful summoner out of the corner of his eye, it was certainly a start.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- This one is a bit longer then the last drabble. Also, be warned that this takes place after the conclusion of Final Fantasy IV: the After Years and, as a result, it has spoilers for that game. I don't intend to make a habit of including too many spoilers in these drabbles, but I've really wanted to write this since completing the game. I promise that, in cases where the story contains spoilers, I'll leave a warning. Please let me know what you think. Enjoy!

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"Try it again," Rydia instructed the blue haired girl in front of her. "It's just like doing the regular Blizzard spell, except that it requires more power. Go ahead and try again, Cuore."

Cuore nodded determinedly. Focusing on the spot in front of her, she muttered "Blizzara, blizzara, blizzara…"

Suddenly the area the area that Cuore had been focusing on was covered by ice and Rydia smiled proudly at her adopted daughter. She was always amazed by how quickly the girl learned, although perhaps she shouldn't be considering Cuore's background. Still, it had taken her so much more time and effort to learn these spells. "Very well done, Cuore!"

"That was fun!" Cuore said happily, her eyes shinning.

"That was great, Cuore," a familiar voice came from behind them. "Remind me not to upset you."

Both Rydia and Cuore spun to face the newcomer. Rydia smiled and took a step forward to greet Edge as he approached.

Cuore cried out and rushed over to him, jumping up and down. "Edge! You're finally here!" Putting her hands on her hips, she glared at him. "And you're late again!

Chuckling softly, the ninja king held up his hands. "Sorry, Cuore. I've warned you before though that it can be hard for me to get away. I have a country to run and there was plenty of work for me to get done before I could come here."

"Well, I'm glad that you came. Now we can play!" Cuore told him. "I know that Rydia said that she was happy that you were coming, too. She said that she really missed you."

"Oh?" Edge smiled mischievously, shooting a glance at Rydia, whose face was now turning red.

"I-I…" Rydia stuttered, not quite sure to respond. The fact was that she and Edge had been playing this game for a while now; they had been seeing each other as much as either of their schedules would allow for the last couple of years, and, after all the events that had transpired recently, she could no longer deny that she loved him.

She could still feel the terror that had ripped through her when Edge had insisted on going out to fight Ifrit alone. The image of him collapsing under the fury of Ifrit's attack was burned into her mind and the fear of losing him was strong enough to keep her awake at nights.

Still, she certainly didn't want her feelings to come out like this. She planned to tell him at some point, but she wanted the time that she chose to be right and this did not strike her as being a good time for such a revelation.

Taking a deep breath, she smiled as she tried to cover her embarrassment, her gaze falling to the ground. "I am glad that you're here. Cuore's always so happy when you visit."

She could feel Edge's eyes on her. "I… see," Edge responded quietly. For a moment, Rydia thought that she heard disappointment in his voice, but he quickly covered it with a smile of his own. "I'm happy to be here. I don't get to see you two as much as I would like."

"I think it's our turn to come visit you next," Rydia told him; now wishing that she had told him the truth. She certainly hadn't wanted to hurt him. This really shouldn't be so hard, but it was.

"I'd like that," Edge said. "Should we head back to the village?"

"Sure," Rydia nodded, using her magic to carefully melt the ice Cuore had created and then leading the way towards the village. Edge caught up to her in a step and Cuore skipped between them.

Rydia was silent as they walked back, allowing Edge and Cuore to fill the time talking about all the games they would play while he was visiting, simply taking pleasure in being with them. She loved these quiet moments when it was just the three of them, with none of the extra complications that always seemed to pop up at the worst possible times.

Cuore ran ahead of them when they arrived at the village and pushed the door open. Rydia never bothered locking the doors on her house. The village was well enough hidden that it strangers rarely came to the village and she trusted all the villagers, so she had never seen any real purpose in locking the doors when this was so much easier for all concerned.

A few minutes after they entered the house, there was a knock at the door. Rydia opened it to reveal one of the Cuore's friends, a young girl with brown hair and pigtails, standing there.

"I'm glad you're back, Cuore!" she chirped excitedly. "We were about to play tag. Do you want to come play with us?"

Cuore hesitated, clearly caught between wanting to play with her friends and wanting to stay with them. "Well…"

"Go ahead," Rydia urged gently. "Edge and I will still be here when you get back. There's no reason for you to miss out on this game if you want to play."

Edge nodded encouragingly. "That's definitely sounds like a good idea to me, Cuore. I don't plan on leaving for a few days at least, so we'll have plenty of time."

Cuore was silent for a moment. "Promise?" she asked finally.

"I promise," Edge told her quickly. "Remember not to use your magic while playing with your friends though. The same rules you and I use when we play."

"I'll remember!" Cuore said cheerfully, the hesitation that she had shown before had fled. With that, the two girls bolted out the door.

Edge chuckled as he watched the girls leave and then shifted his attention to Rydia. "And so we get some time alone."

"Indeed," Rydia said with a smile. Impulsively, she walked over to Edge and kissed him lightly, amused by his surprise as she pulled away. There was a nervous flutter as the silence went on for a few more minutes as Rydia suddenly began to worry that perhaps she had done something wrong. It certainly wasn't the first time that they had kissed, so his silence confused her. Perhaps it was the sudden nature of the kiss that had led to this. To break the silence, she added teasingly, "I'm not sure that I've seen you speechless before, Edge."

Much to Rydia's relief, Edge smirked at that, finally recovering from his shock. "Heh, I know that it's happened a few times before, but it's usually reserved for circumstances in which you're involved." His eyes softened as he touched her cheek, causing a blush to spread across Rydia's face. "I've really missed you, Rydia."

"I've missed you, too," Rydia whispered honestly. As they stood there together, Rydia struck with another impulsive urge. "I love you." Her throat tightened as she waited for his response. She was glad that it was out; it was far past time that it was said, but that didn't make it any easier.

Surprised by her revelation, Edge's eyes widened. "I-I love y-you, too," he managed to stutter. Taking a step forward, he wrapped his arms around her and they kissed.

Giggling seemed to emanate from the front door. Walking over to investigate, the pair found the door open a crack with Cuore and her friend on the other side of the door.

"I thought that you two were going to play?" Rydia asked, feeling a bit embarrassed that their private moment had been witnessed.

Cuore just giggled, while her friend responded playfully, "We were, but this seemed more interesting."

"Well, all that's passed now, so why don't you two meet up with your friends now," Edge suggested, taking a step forward.

"Okay!" Cuore said, her eyes sparkling.

As the two girls darted off, Rydia caught Edge's eye and the two shared a smile. Taking her hand, Edge led the way back inside and they closed the door.


End file.
